To build the pipeline of data-driven leaders in our community, Shift participated in Denver Public Schools’ CareerConnect Program, which pairs student interns with industry leaders for hands-on workplace experiences and mentoring. Our interns, Nhi and Judiah, are sophomores at West High School and have been working with us for the past two months. As their internship comes to a close, they’re excited to share what they’ve learned about data and social issues in the region. ‍

Nhi: My time with Shift helped me realize that I would be interested in potentially pursuing a career in data. Some of my key takeaways from this internship were gaining workplace experience, working independently on projects and discovering new interests, including learning more about what is happening in my neighborhood. I now know what social issues are happening in my city, which has sparked my passion for data and research. ‍

Judiah: The two main things I learned during this internship were how businesses operate and how to analyze and visualize data so that other people can understand it better. I also learned a lot about how Denver has changed over the past decade, including that housing prices are rising faster than incomes. Working here has taught me a lot and I would recommend this internship to others because there was always so much to do and learn at Shift.

We want to thank Nhi and Judiah for all their hard work this semester and we look forward to seeing how they apply their knowledge of data and social issues in school—and beyond! If you’re interested in participating in DPS’s CareerConnect, reach out to DPS’s program coordinator, Andrew Rewold.